Loose-leaf binder, card-system file, or the like



: Aug 19, 1930.

J. E. THURESON 1,773,554 LOOSE LEAF BINDER, CARD SYSTEM FILE, OR-THE LIKE Filed Jude 1, 1929 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 19, 1930.

J. E. THURESON l,773;554 LOOSE LEAF BINDER, CARD SYSTEM FILE, OR THE LIKE Filed June 1, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 ill) tion while the other cover attachment is opened. Fig. 6 shows the rightportion of Fig. 5 to an enlarged scale, and Fig. 7,-illus-- tratesi the left portion of Fig. 5 to-an en- Patented Aug. 19, 1939 dance, or STQGKEOLM, swans N, A ame-erect: COMPANY LOOSE-LEAF mine oAnn-s rsrEM FILE, cit THE LIKE Application:filed June 1 1929, Serial No. 3 7, 48, and. in sem n October 4, 11527.

The present invention refersto lettercovers, card system files, loose-leaf binders or' the like, preferably of the type inwhich a baclrframe provided with attachments for the leaves is composed oftwo halt-parts p1votally connected with each other, said half parts 'beingeach hinged to one of two fillets or the like of sheet-metal extending along the outer edges oftheback of the binder, said fillets serving its "attachments for the side portions of the covers. These fillets are calledcover attachments hereinbelow.

The accompanying drawings-illustrate an embodiment according to the invention as applied to so-called car'd'system binders, in which the back-halves may be displaced in relationto each otherin the longitudinaldi rection of the back-when theback-halves'have been Op ned. p f

Figs. 1 and2 show theback of the binder including the cover, attachments inclosed positions and viewed from within'and from the end respectively. Fig. 3 shows the same in open position viewed tromwithign and. with the back halves displaced relatively-to each other in the longitudinal. direction. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation. .Fig. 5 shows the back of the binderin closed positi'on and viewed fromthe oend,'withon e cover attachment occupyinglthe closed posila'rged scale and partly in section. I

7 Card system binders of thetype shown 1n the drawing are intended to receive a number of series of cards of a. height considerably less than that of the binder, each such series being situated betw-eentworleaves of about 1 the same height as. the binder, and thecards of each particular serlesbeing super mposed in such a manner that the uppermost por-v tion of an underlying card is not covered by 1 a card lying thereon. 1 By the teaturethat the back halves may be displaced in the longitudinal? direction relatively to each other, as stated hereinb efore, one or more leaves of the "same serles may be readily moved fromfalower to a higher position or vice versa, Without the necessity of first detachingthe same, Such displacement otthe leavestakes place, for instance, when a newcard is to be inserted be tween two cards already inserted. "The back members are moved to the open position and then displaced relatively in a longitudinal direction. Cards carried on either set 01": prongs may be moved to theother set of prongs, then when the backmembers are returned to their original position, the cards Jessa EINAR rrzunns'on, or srocxnotivr, swnnnn, ASSIGNOR rro nYa AKTIEBOLAGET which have been moved from one set of prongs to the other are displaced longitu'di nally with respect to their original position; If new cards are to be inserted, their position longitudinally withrespect to the cards already in the binder may be'determined' by placing themon one. onthe other otthe sets of prongs. 1 When 'it is desired to etfectrecording oni the cardsior leaves, it is preferable that the back halves occupy a halt op enedtposition, in that the cards or leaves in thebinder are not then-pressedhard: against each other, but are loose so as to lie. flat when the binder is opened, evenif the lattershould happen to=be fullyoccupied'i by cards insertedtherein.'-

RUith the construction of the locking means forkeepingthe'backhalves in the closed and} inthe halt-opened position as hitherto used, the'disadvantage is involved that on the release ot the spring-actuated latch, which is understood to take :place after the binderhas firstbeen opened, thebackihalves will immediately open altogether under thepressure of the two halvesofthe opened binder, if the tendency of theback halvesto assume the fully open position is "not checked by a spec'i'al manipulation. I I

The present invention compr1ses means'for obviating-this drawback, and th s means is princip ally characterized by the featurethatthe latchingdevice is provided with a guidlng means which 1s rendered operative by the opening movement of the back halves, in such a manner as to bring the latching'mems merit, corresponding to the here into engage halt-opened position."

l hetwo backhalves 1 andfQ, whiQh arei here-conceived'as made -froinsteel plate, are

provided at their adjacent edges with hinge members 4: and 5 respectively, which engage between each other and have a hinge pin 3 Ispaces 26 are formed between adjacent sleeves in such manner that the two backhalves may be displaced relatively to each other along the pin 3 a distance equal to the distance between the prongs 7 of theme back-half and the adjacent prongs of the other back-half, that is to say, the distance between the prongs of a pair of prongs or the distance between the holes of a pair of holes inthe cards.

17 designates the cover sides which are carried by cover attachments secured between the sides of the back halves 1, 2, and the prong attachments 8.

The prong attachment of the one backhalf is provided'with a support havin two branches 21 directed toward the other backhalf, and the prong attachment of the other back-half is provided with a corresponding support 22 having its branches directed toward the branches of the support 21. The

supports which are preferably made integral 7 with the appertaining prong attachments are bent at their free ends.'

In the. closed position of the back these branches bear or nearly bear against each other, as will be seen from Figs. 1 and 5.

In the inside of each support 22 a latch 11 is ,pivotally. secured .by means of a pin 12. This latch is provided on one side only with two lockinglugs" and 31.

When the back of .the binder is closed, each latch;l1 enters a recess 34 in a bent end of the support 21. i

When the back isentirely closed (Fig. 1) the locking lug 31 isbrought into engagement inside the edge of the recess, whereas when the back is in half-opened position the locking lug 30 is in engagement with the said edge.

7 A trigger 13 in the form of a pivoted lever is connected by means of a wire 14 with the lower latch 11, and moreover the two latches are interconnected by means of a wire 27 while being each under the influence of a spring 28 which tends to move the latch into the locking position. As will be readily seen from the drawing andfrom the description hereinbefore, the arrangement is such that if the back-halves are interlocked and the trigger is actuated against the pressure of the springs, the latches will be released from their engagement with the edge of the recess' 34. r V

In order that the latches shall not be brought out of engagementwith the supports 21. altogether on a preliminary actuation of" the trigger 13,- that is to say, in order that the back shall not'be entirely opened, but remainin the half-opened position and be locked in the same by the locking lugs 30 being caused to bear on the inside of the edge of the slots 34, each latch is provided with a projection 32 on that edge which is opposite to the edge on which the locking lugs 30 and 31 are provided. This projection 32 is moreover arranged at a somewhat greater distance from the free end of the latch than the lug 30, but not so far therefrom as the lug 31. F urthermore, the' distance between the base of the lug 30 and the point of the projection 32 should be about equal to the. extension of the recess 31 in the direction of movement of the latch, that is to say in the longitudinal direction of the back of the, binder.

This arrangement ensures that, when the back-halves of the binder are turned from each otherupon an actuation of the trigger 13 which brings the locking lug 31 out of engagementwith the locking edge of the slot 34, the latch is compelled by the projection 34 sliding against the edge 35 of the slot 34, opposite to the locking edge, to move so that the locking lug 30 will engage inside the lockingedge and lock the back-half in the halfopened position. It should be observed that the back cannot even be moved into the half-opened position before the pressure on the trigger 13 has ceased. inasmuch as the projection 32 engages on the inside of the edge 'ofthe opening 34 as long as the trigger is kept in a position corresponding to the released position of the latch. Thus it is necessary first to release the trigger, the projection 32 then being brought out of and the lug '31 into engagement with the edge of the opening 34, and then to depress the trigger again, in order that the latch shall be released entirely from the locking edge to permit the back-halves to assume to fully opened position.

The projection 32 alsoserves another purpose in addition to that above described.

In the intermediate positions, counted in the longitudinal direction, which the back halves assume on displacement mutuallyin the longitudinal direction from the position indicated in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 3, the back-halves cannot be closedso much that the points of the prongs damage the cards, such closing being prevented by the point oi the latch 11 being caused to bear on the support 21. As soon as the extreme position shown in Fig. 3 has been reached, the projec tion 32 is caused to bear 011 the support 21 when the backmembers are pressed against each other in the direction of closing the binder, the back-halves'being then closed in a suitable degree to permit the transfer of leaves from the one to the other side of the open binder.

The edge portion 33 between the point of the latch 11 and the lug 32 is oblique, tor the purpose of facilitating adjustment of the back-halves into the position according to 15 denotes the two cover attachments, each of which is pivotally connected to the front edge of one of the two back parts. Each such cover attachment 15 consists of a fillet, bar I or the like of sheet-metal of the same length as the baclehalves, and each fillet is provided at both ends with a bent edge or flange '9 situated in the same ,transversal plane as the similar flanges 6 on the back-halves 1 and 2; I

Therear portion of each cover. 17 bears on the inside of the appertaining cover attachment 15,-and the edges 9 form abutments for the end portions of the cover; Lugs16 out out of the cover -attachment unite the cover and the cover attachment. The connection between each back-half and the appertaining coverattachment consists of a hinge, hinge members 18 rigidly connected with the backhalf entering between hinge members. 19 which are .made integral with thecover attachment, besides which all members 18, 19

have a hinge pin 20 extending therethrough. The hinge members 18 are connected with the back-half by means of the same lugs 10 which connect the back half with the prong attachment, the said members 18 being made inte ral with pieces of sheet-metal 4:1 situated between the back-half and the prong attachment. The prong attachment and the hers is shaped in such a manner back-half are kept at a suitable mutual distance by lugs 42 of suitablelength on the sheet-metal pieces 41, the said lugs 42 bearing on'the outside of the prong attachments 8. 7

The portion 40 adjacent to the hinge memas to form a longitudinal recess or groove on ofthe cover attachment and a corresponding f elevation, ridge or the like on the inside of proximately 180 degrees will be seen most clearly fromthe The ;posi- I lines in Fig. 6 shows how far cover when the cover attachment 15 is formed in accordance with the invention. The increased swinging path of the cover makes it possible to bring the'binder into the same convenient writing positions as a common book-keeping ledger or the like with a round back, if the outside oftheback of the binder is arcuate or convex, as shown in the drawing. Thus all advantagesof abinder with rigid.

rear edge of the cover, so

by the edge of the-prong ate the outside This.

by full lines illustrates cloth 'or leather hinges for the covers are maintained by the application of the present arrangement, while at the same time the invention provides for the strength andfldu rability involvedby the use of metal hinges;

Moreover, the embodiment of the portion 10 of the cover attachments asjdescribed'im volves'the following objects and advantages:

(1) "The construction .-is rendered more i Y '5 The convex inside of the portion 49 bears on the prongattachment and limitsthe movement of the cover when the binder is closed,- ing the pressurein the closing direction, so that the binder will not be damaged even if subjected to an abnormally heavy pressure in r the said direction.

Theconvex inside of the portion 40 forms a support and bearing surface for the that this edge cannot be damaged tachmen't,

By binder and of the coverattachments the fur}; ther: advantageis obtained against loose-leaf the prong attachment then absorbthe construction of the back ofthe binders of the type in question where the,

cover is secured in the outside of the cover attachment, that the book bindingwork is simplified very considerably in that the card boardi covers on the one hand andfth-e back of the binderwiththecoverattachmentson the. other hand maybe made altogether; independently of. each other from the beginning and may then be assembled with the greatest ease by the retailer,'importer and so forth.

Preferably: the back-halves are provided;

with longitudinal elevations orthe like on the rear side by subjecting the sheet-metal material to a pressing operation, the saidelevations or the like theniserving as or the like on. whichit generally rests-with the back downwards. By the said arrange.-

ment the hinge between'the back-halves is m guide rails when thebinder is taken down from itsshelf prevented from scratching on thesupport of:

the binder. If;'desired, s uch guide rails may instead be formed by, special fillets secured on the "back, the same consisting preferably j of ba kelite or' fibre- If desired, the hinge back-halves.

Preferably, attachments are. provided 7 with rounded: elevations 43 (seeFig. 7,) on the outside,;besides which the front edges of the back halves are bentsomewhat inwardly, as at 1%, Fig.7. a

The object of thisisto prevent scratching of is placed when the table'on which the binder used; I 5 i R NhatI claimis 1. Aloos'e-le'af binder bination, Withfla ;pa1r of back members," of

. means pivotallyconnecting members for ill the bar say-be countersunk inside the external plane of the the front portions of the cover leecomprising the com,-

movement between closed and open positions, means for locking said members in closed positionand in half-open position, means for releasing said locking means, said locking meanspreventing the movement of said back members from half-open to open position when said releasing means is active.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said locking means comprises a latch mem ber on one of said back members, said latch member being provided with a pair of lugs on one edge and a single lug on the opposite edge disposed tioned lugs. p

3. A loose-leaf binder comprising the combination with a pair. of back members, of means connecting said members for pivotal movement between closed and open positions, a recessed member on one of said back members, and a latch on the other of said back members, said latch having two lugs on one edge coopera-tingwith the recess of said member for holding saidback members in closed and half-open positions respectively and a third lug on the opposite edge cooperating with the recess of said member whensaid back members are in a position intermediate said closed and half-open'positions to insure locking engagement of said second lug after unlatching of said first lug. V

4; The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein said back members are relatively displaceable in a longitudinal direction and said last' named lug, together with said recessed member, constitute means for preventingthe movement of said back members from open toclosed position when said members are in any position intermediate the extreme positions oflongitudinal displacement.

In a loose-leaf binder, the combination with a pair of back members, of means pivotally connecting said members for movement between openand-closed positions, means for locking said back membersin closed position and in half-open position, and means actuated upon'j movement of said back members from closed to open position, for operating saidlocking means to lock said back members in half-open position. 7

6. A loose-leaf binder comprising the combination l with a pair of back members, of

means connecting said members for pivotal relative movement between open and closed positions and for longitudinal relative displacement, andmeans for preventing the movement of said members from open to closed position when said members are in any position intermediate the extreme. positions of longitudinal displacement 7. A loose-leaf binder comprisingthe combination with a pair of back members, of connecting the same, a pair means pivotally of cover. frames, and means pivotally connecting each cover frame to a back member formovementbetween closed and open posicover frame is in said intermediate said first-mentions, each of said cover frames having a channel adjacent the edge of its respective back member to receive the same when said open position.

8. A loose-leaf binder comprising the combination with a pair of back members, of means pivotally connecting the same, a pair of covers, a frame for each cover, said frames having flanged end portions constituting supporting and protecting means for said covers, and means of said coversito a back member for movement from closed toopen position, each of said cover frames being provided with a recessed portion for engagement with the edge of its respective back member when said frame is in said open position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

J OSEF EINAR THURESON. 

